Faith in Celesia

Faith and Worship

The Public at Large

In general, devotion to powerful, divine beings is common among all peoples of Celesia. When it comes to as which divine being an individual devotes themselves to, this is more widely varied. Many people choose to devote themselves to a single patron, and tend to be more involved in some form of organization dedicated to that patron. Equally, though, there are people who pay homage to multiple divinities whose aspects significantly impact their lives. For example, a simple farmer is more concerned with a good harvest would pay homage in a modest manner to the deities Tierra for farming in general, Firhanna for good weather, and Tiamat to ward off wandering monsters. Meanwhile, a judge may devote themselves wholly to Kaï-den, whose aspect of law and justice is the primary concern for them and enough to deal with everything else in their life.

Anointed

People who are able to manifest supernatural powers derived from a divine origin are referred to as 'anointed'. These individuals have been chosen by divine beings due to their faith and devotion to them. It is believed that their faith is so pure and profound that it forms a metaphysical connection between the individual and their divine patron that allows said patron to share their power with them. The ability to manifest these powers upon command is a sure sign that the anointed is in the favour of their patron.

Godless Anointed

Less commonly found are some anointed that are so devoted specific concepts that they are also able manifest faith miracles. Some scholars believe that these "godless" anointed derive their power both from their phenomenal depth of belief in their ideals, and the ambient energies from the outer planes closest in nature to those ideals. Other scholars suspect that actual gods or other divinely-powered entities share some of their power to these types of anointed as long as their ideals are in sync. The theory is that these higher beings are willing to aid these anointed as they serve and promote the very ideals that they personify, augmenting the diving beings' influence and power even if the cleric does not name them in their prayers.

Role in Society

The anointed serve a vital role in society. The miracles they are able to manifest are generally among the most geared towards affecting the masses, most notable among them is the healing of wounds and diseases. The anointed generally provide these miracles freely to the public at large (unless they require an expensive material component), generally in exchange for the recipients to listen to their preaching and sermons. The most selfish deities would prefer their anointed to extract a cost out of their recipients in exchange for their gifts, but must grudgingly forego this when having to compete for influence with more altruistic deities. Kaï-den teaches his anointed to heal freely, forcing Zhao-Khan and Noué to do the same lest the public turn against them in favour of Kaï-den.

The Afterlife

When a person dies, their soul travels to the Outer Planes, where they are first judged by the Court of Jeshakhet. The souls are judged for how true they were in their faith to their patrons. The souls of the anointed and single-deity devoted laypersons that are judged to have been true are permitted to enter the realm of their patron. The souls who have paid homage to multiple deities that were true to each are permitted entry to the realm of the deity that is closest to their heart. Those who professed no faith in any deity, or who have been judged to have been false in their faith, are sent to the unprotected realms of the Outer Plane closest to their nature. These souls are at the most risk of being captured by roving bands of fiendish raiders.

Souls remain in their destined afterlife, enjoying their just rewards or suffering for their sins. Unless some outside force intervenes, a soul will eventually find some form of absolute peace, and will eventually merge with their Outer Plane, returning their sum total of all of their memories and experience to the multiverse. Eventually a new soul will be born to inhabit a corporeal form on Midrealm, very rarely having any memory of their previous incarnation. Alternate paths a soul can take involved metamorphing into a form of an Outsider such as an angel or devil, or being consumed by powerful entities which results in the soul's sense of self being completely obliterated.

Religious Conflict

In the early days of Celesia, conflict between religions reached the levels of warfare that matched those between nations. Armies of ferveant followers, led by anointed leaders, would clash in open field in the numbers of thousands. In modern times, though, such outright conflict between followers of different faiths, and sometimes within the same faith, is actually rare, but the conflicts themselves continue to be very common. Typically, when there is conflict, it is done between small groups and out of public sight. Another form of religious conflict can be of one religion using its influence, either among the general public or its followers in high political positions, to oppress or drive out its rivals. Less scrupulous faiths also resort to backing and using third-parties to inflict damage on their rivals. With such conflicts continuing to be present, all faiths have their own devoted defenders, with some being so large and organized that they are effectively armies in their service.